MOTHER'S DAY SERMON
Posted by: PastorDannyP <PastorDannyP@...>
Pastormail. If so, I submit the following sermon for Mother's day.
IS YOUR MAMA A KANGAROO?
TEXT: 2 Timothy 1:1-5
Some of you are wondering why the Preacher would title a Sermon "Is your
Mama a Kangaroo?" ESPECIALLY on MOTHER'S DAY?
Well, I saw a CARTOON a while back. It had only one frame - very simple
really. But the MESSAGE of that cartoon spoke to my heart, and gave the SEED
THOUGHT for this message. In the cartoon a Mama Kangaroo was standing and
facing a beautiful, hilly horizon - she was smiling approvingly as she
watched an ABSOLUTELY AWESOME SUNSET behind the trees!
Her baby was "PEEKING" out of her "POUCH," staring in AWE at this marvelous
sight! Beneath the cartoon was a one sentence CAPTION, which read - HIS
MOTHER DETERMINES HIS POINT OF VIEW! WOW! What an AWESOME MESSAGE!
"HIS MOTHER DETERMINES HIS POINT OF VIEW!"
QUESTION? How can godly Mother's influence their children's POINT OF VIEW?
1. Godly Mothers PLANT the seeds of FAITH in their children's lives.
There is a woman. Her name is EUNICE. She is mentioned only once in
scripture - 2 Timothy 1:5. Yet that one verse has given her a prominent place
in scripture. He name has been immortalized. WHY? What makes her so
special? Did she write a book of the Bible? NO! Did she become Princess or
Queen of some great land? NO! Did she start a Christian Church? NO! Was
she a Great Foreign Missionary? NO! Was she a noted author? NO! Was she a
wealthy Christian Businesswoman? NO! Then what makes her so Great? She
PLANTED the seeds of FAITH in her children's lives.
We can assume from this one verse that Eunice began planting the seeds of
faith in Timothy's life from the time he was an infant. In fact, from the
day of his birth, Timothy had a constant reminder of the importance of a
PERSONAL FAITH RELATIONSHIP with God. His name - TIMOTHY - literally means
"GOD - FEARING."
Eunice knew an important KEY to being a GODLY PARENT. You CANNOT FORCE
your personal faith upon your children. You cannot make their faith decision
for them. BUT - you CAN PLANT SEEDS of FAITH in their lives daily - and you
can pray that they will someday blossom into a personal salvation for them.
Eunice could NOT FORCE Timothy to FEAR GOD - but she could give him a name to
live up to! The process of PLANTING SEEDS in Timothy's life began the day he
was born, when his Mama named him! SHE DETERMINED HIS POINT OF VIEW!
Now I realize today, just as you do, that merely giving a child a
scriptural or meaningful NAME will not REDEEM them or bring them to JESUS for
SALVATION.
But it sure can't hurt! Think about this -
From an early age, we determine what is best for our children, then we
begin training them and leading them in the directions they need to go in
order to live fulfilling lives and reach their greatest potential. We teach
them proper table manners and common courtesy. We train them in personal
behavior issues. We teach them personal hygiene. We give them an education.
We teach them about diet and exercise, and the list goes on. AM I RIGHT?
YOU BET!
SO! WHY IN HEAVEN'S NAME DON'T WE DO THE SAME IN SPIRITUAL MATTERS?
I often hear parents say, "Oh, but I want them to decide those things for
themselves when they are old enough!" MOOSE NUGGETS! Would you allow your
teenager to run around town NAKED because he just didn't want to wear
clothes? NO! Would you tell your nine year old she doesn't have to attend
school any more if she doesn't feel like it. NO! Would you allow your child
to skip your wholesome meal and then consume a Snickers candy bar, a bowl of
Goo-Goo Cluster Ice cream with 6 Oreo cookies, and half a bag of Doritoes?
OF COURSE NOT! Would you allow your 2 year old to go for weeks on end
without a bath because she "hates the water?"
You say, "Preacher that's absolutely LUDICROUS!" And you are ABSOLUTELY
right! Good parents will take responsibility to teach and train their
children in all these areas and more.
What's my point? Godly Mothers (parents) not only train their children
in these areas, they also train them in SPIRITUAL MATTERS. We MUST teach
them HOW to study and memorize SCRIPTURES. We MUST teach them to PRAY. We
MUST teach them to have a daily QUIET TIME for DISCIPLESHIP GROWTH. We MUST
attempt to lead them to JESUS CHRIST for REDEMPTION (SALVATION). We MUST
teach them SCRIPTURAL OBEDIENCE in areas like Baptism, Church membership,
personal DISCIPLESHIP, WITNESSING to the lost, and so on.
BELOVED, you can give your children the prettiest name brand clothes, the
NIKE shoes, the most popular toys, the fanciest bikes, the best education,
and the fastest cars, but if you don't LEAD THEM TO JESUS - you have FAILED
as a parent!
Godly Mothers (and Fathers) PLANT THE SEEDS OF FAITH in their children. They
DETERMINE the CHILD'S POINT OF VIEW! They create the kind of spiritual
climate in the home that entices children to LOVE God first and most of all,
and to LOVE their neighbors as themselves. Godly parents INFLUENCE their
children in Spiritual matters.
Gordon McDonald speaks of Christian Parenthood as "A War against the forces
of evil which would destroy our children's lives. 'The prize' he explains,
'is the INNER SPIRIT of my children, and the STAKES are HIGH! Arrayed
against me are those who wish to extract MONEY, LOYALTY, and the strong
CREATIVE ENERGY my son or daughter may have to give. In the ETERNAL
dimension, the PRIZE is the SOUL of my CHILDREN. I am NOT prepared to
COMPROMISE or NEGOTIATE. Until my children are old and wise enough to
distinguish their ENEMIES from their friends, I hold the RESPONSIBILITY to
conduct BOTH a DEFENSE and an OFFENSE on their behalf." WOW! I LIKE that!
Eunice accomplished that in the life of her son Timothy. Many of us here
today can thank God for the Godly mothers and Fathers who PLANTED THE SEEDS
OF FAITH in our lives from a very early age. Others here can pray that we
could emulate Eunice's example so that when we are someday eulogized, it can
be said "She was a Godly Mother who PLANTED THE SEEDS OF FAITH in her
children. Amen? IS YOUR MAMA A KANGAROO?
2. Godly Mothers PREPARE their children for a LIFE OF FAITH.
I believe Christian Mother's are a lot like God! What do you mean,
Preacher? Just this: -- A Godly Mother is a TREMENDOUS blessing to her
husband and children. In Proverbs 31 it says "Her children rise up and call
her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her." Why is that? BECAUSE
SHE IS THERE FOR THEM!
She knows that nobody is perfect. But she is ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that her
husband and children can CHANGE THE WORLD! She has FAITH in them. She KNOWS
their needs, and she makes it her business to MEET those NEEDS ABUNDANTLY!
She BELIEVES in them, and ENCOURAGES them all her days. She PRAYS for them
without ceasing. She PRACTICES her FAITH daily, as an example of HOLINESS.
She is KIND, GENTLE, and TENDER HEARTED. However, she will FIGHT for them.
My friend Ed Prigel's wife Betty is MILD-MANNERED, SWEET SPIRITED, and
thoroughly LOVEABLE. But when it comes to her children, I've heard Ed say
more than once "THAT BETTY, SHE'D FIGHT A BUZZ SAW FER THEM KIDS!" I can tell
you from personal experience in my life - If'n you MESS with a woman's MAN or
her CHILDREN, you GONNA have a FIERCE, GRIZZLY, SHE BEAR - RIGHT UP IN YOUR
FACE! And it's NOT a PRETTY sight! Just like a MAMA GRIZZLY - a Godly Mother
will sacrifice herself for her family! But the most AWESOME thing about a
Godly Mother is that she LOVES her husband and her children UNCONDITIONALLY!
Her LOVE is a STUBBORN LOVE! Regardless of the circumstance or situation,
when they come to HER, they ALWAYS find her ARMS OPEN WIDE!
QUESTION? Is that godly behavior? How does God deal with mankind? Let's
see.
Let's consider some of the FAMOUS folks of the Bible - folks like
ABRAHAM, MOSES, DAVID, and others. These are names that are in the Scriptural
HALL OF FAME in Hebrews 11. But I would tell you that they were just as HUMAN
as we are, and they sinned too! But God USED these people to CHANGE THE
WORLD. Truthfully, they were a RAG-BAG bunch of NE'ER DO WELLS and HAS-BEENS
who placed their FAITH in God and found HOPE in His WIDE OPEN ARMS!
Let's start with ABRAHAM. Paul describes his FAITH, but this Father of
the Hebrew nation had his faults! For one thing, he was a LIAR. One time he
feared for his life and told people Sarah was NOT his wife, but was his
sister. Not long after that, he did it AGAIN! TWICE he traded his INTEGRITY
for personal security. That's what you call CONFIDENCE in God's PROMISES?
Can you build a NATION on that kind of FAITH? GOD CAN! God took what was
GOOD and FORGAVE and FORGOT what was BAD, and USED old "FORKED-TONGUED"
Abraham to start a NATION.
What about MOSES? Hey, until he was 80 years old he was nothing but a
ONCE UPON A TIME PRINCE turned OUTLAW! Would you choose a wanted MURDERER to
lead a nation out of BONDAGE? Would you ask a FUGITIVE from JUSTICE to carry
the TEN COMMANDMENTS? GOD DID! He CALLED MOSES right out of the Sheep
pasture. CALLED his name from a BURNING BUSH! Scared old Moses right out of
his shoes! Right there, with his knees knocking, he mouth gaping, and "Who,
ME?" written all over his face, Moses agreed to DO the WILL of the LORD!
Then there's DAVID. Here's a guy who LUSTED so much, he committed
ADULTERY with Uriah the Hittites wife, Bathsheba. When he got her PREGNANT,
he tried to BLAME it on Uriah, who was a man of INTEGRITY. So David has
Uriah INTENTIONALLY KILLED on the battle field, and then went on living with
Bathsheba as if nothing had happened! What do you call a man like that?
Well, SCRIPTURE calls him a man after God's own heart!
His lifestyle left little to be desired, but when confronted by God's
Prophet, his repentant SPIRIT was UNQUESTIONABLE.
Then comes JONAH, God's Ambassador to NINEVEH. But Jonah said "HEY, I'm
NOT going to that HEATHEN city!" So he went off the deep end and hopped on
another boat while God wasn't looking (or so he thought). God put him a
whale's belly for three days to bring him back to center. But the WHALE
couldn't STOMACH Jonah, so he BURPED and WIDE-EYED, repentant Jonah landed on
the beach! So Jonah went to Nineveh, preached REPENTANCE to the people, then
sat back to wait for the FIRE AND BRIMSTONE! When the people REPENTED and
God FORGAVE them, Jonah has his own "Pity - Party" not realizing he had been
USED to ACCOMPLISHED God's DESIRED outcome!
The bible is full of these stories - ELIJAH, the prophet who pouted when
he thought he was the only prophet left for God! There's SOLOMON, the King
who knew too much. This guy had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Know what
that means? On any given night, with any give woman, he could "WOO" his wife
with these words: "HONEY, YOU'RE ONE IN A THOUSAND!"
There was JACOB, the WHEELER DEALER; GOMER, the PROSTITUTE; and SARAH,
the woman who LAUGHED in the FACE of GOD! There's story after story of God
USING man's BEST, and OVERCOMING man's WORST through FORGIVENESS. GOD'S LOVE
IS A STUBBORN LOVE!
Jesus explained God's stubborn love in the parable of the young man who
thought life on the farm was too slow for him. So, with his pockets stuffed
with inheritance money, he mounted his new CAMEL, and set out for what my son
calls the "BIG TIME." What he found was painful hangovers, sinful living,
Fair Weather Friends and long unemployment lines. Finally, when he "CAME TO"
in the HOGPEN HILTON (remember that one?) he swallowed his fleshly pride, and
started that long, humbling walk home, all the while practicing the speech he
would give his father. He topped the hill, and saw his Father, who had been
waiting at the gate every day, excitedly running to GREET him! His words of
apology were muffled by the father's words of forgiveness and LOVE. And the
boy's bone weary body fell into his father's WIDE OPEN ARMS!
QUESTION? DO YOU SEE IT YET? ARE YOU GETTING' IT?
God USED and USES PEOPLE to CHANGE THE WORLD! Not SUPERHUMANS, or
GENIUSES. Just plain people. Shucks folks, God uses CROOKS, CREEPS, LIARS
and LOVERS! He's WILLING to USE us ALL. And what we may lack in perfection,
God makes up for with His LOVE!
You see, the same WIDE OPEN ARMS that WELCOMED back the Prodigal SON, had
also welcomed ABRAHAM, MOSES, DAVID, JONAH, and all the rest. No WAGGING
fingers. No CLENCHED fists. No "I TOLD YOU SO!" No SLAPS, no
INTERROGATIONS. No CROSSED arms. No black eyes or fat lips!
Only SWEET, WIDE OPEN ARMS! Only that STUBBORN, UNCONDITIONAL,
LONGSUFFERING, TENDERHEARTED LOVE! The same LOVE available to each of us -
the same SWEET, WIDE OPEN ARMS!
Now you understand why I say Christian Mother's are a lot like God. They
help to DETERMINE your POINT OF VIEW!
Now let me make this whole thing PERSONAL. God USES sinners, saved by GRACE,
like YOU and ME, to CHANGE THE WORLD! I don't care WHO you are, WHAT you've
done, or WHERE you've been! God CAN USE YOU to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in YOUR
WORLD. I BELIEVE that! God BELIEVES that! Jesus BELIEVES that! DO YOU
BELIEVE THAT?
Lemme tell Ya'll somethin' else while were at it! God's LOVING ARMS were
OPEN the WIDEST on a CRUEL ROMAN CROSS! Jesus LOVES you, and Jesus LOVES me
- SO MUCH - that he STRETCHED OUT HIS ARMS - AND DIED! But He CONQUERED
death and the grave, and now He LIVES! HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!
And His arms are OPEN WIDE today. Wide enough for YOU! SOMEBODY SHOUT
HALLELUJAH!!
Listen to me, Jesus offers a LOVING EMBRACE of FORGIVENESS for ANYONE who
will COME. If you don't have a personal relationship with JESUS today, I pray
you will RUN to Him in FAITH for FORGIVENESS, for HOPE, for JOY, for PEACE,
for ACCEPTANCE, for PROMISES FULFILLED, for LOVE, FOR-EVER! WOW! What an
AWESOME SAVIOR! WHEW! SWEET BEULAH LAND! Is your life as a BELIEVER
OFF-CENTER - feeling guilt over some un-confessed sin? Out of Fellowship
with Christ? Not praying, studying, and spending TIME with God? Know you
should come to worship more than once a week but seldom do? Know you need to
tithe but you don't think you can afford to? Need to follow Christ in
baptism, or unite with this fellowship Oof believers - but Satan keeps
holding you back? My Friend, Jesus' ARMS are OPEN WIDE for you - RIGHT NOW!
Like a HEN gathering her CHICKS - Jesus DRAWS you to HIMSELF. Will you come?
Will you come? - INVITATION
Copyright © 2002 Danny Presswood, WOW! Ministries. Permission to reproduce
this material is automatically granted on the condition that credit is given
to the author, it will be used for non-commercial purposes, will not be sold,
and will be distributed for the sole purpose of spreading the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Any other use requires the written permission of WOW! Ministries.